Here are the top most popular grenadine cocktails, from classic drinks to modern spins starring this bright red syrup! Plus, try my tips for making your own homemade grenadine from scratch.
Got a bottle of grenadine on hand? Before I became a home cocktails expert, I thought grenadine was cherry syrup: but it’s actually made from pomegranate juice! Its name is derived from the French word for pomegranate, grenade. It tastes fruity and sweet, and adds a bright red color to every drink it touches.
After making dozens of recipes with this syrup, here is a list of my top grenadine cocktails using this sweet syrup! There are classics like the vibrant Tequila Sunrise and sophisticated Cuban El Presidente. And of course no list would be complete without the most famous mocktail of them all, the Shirley Temple,
12 Popular Grenadine Cocktails
One of my favorite grenadine cocktails of all time is the vibrant Tequila Sunrise! It’s beautiful and vibrant, with layered colors of a summer sunset. All you need is 3 ingredients and no special techniques or equipment. The flavor is refreshingly sweet, with just a hint of tequila.
Arguably the most popular of all grenadine drinks is the famous mocktail, the Shirley Temple! This isn’t the overly sweet, syrupy version of this drink. The classic way is actually made with ginger beer and makes a mocktail that for anyone looking for a bubbly, refreshing non-alcoholic drink. Or, turn it into a cocktail by adding vodka for a Dirty Shirley.
A Singapore Sling is for the adventurous drinker: it calls for a whopping 8 ingredients. It’s the longest ingredient list of any of my cocktail recipes and has a few specialty ingredients. But if you want to experience a classic cocktail and don’t mind the challenge: it’s a must try! The combination of fruity, sweet tart and bubbly is intriguingly complex and just plain fun.
Here’s a sophisticated classic grenadine cocktail that steals the show: the Clover Club! This bright pink drink stems back before Prohibition, but it’s just as en vogue today. It's often made with raspberry syrup, but grenadine syrup is also traditional. Combine them with zingy lemon and gin to make a perfectly balanced sweet tart drink, with a classic egg white foam that gives a creamy body and frothy texture to each sip.
It’s fruity and extra boozy: the Hurricane is a classic New Orleans cocktail made with light and dark rum, passion fruit syrup, lime, and grenadine. The passion fruit gives it a tropical nuance, and a hint of grenadine gives it extra sweetness and a rosy-golden color. It’s a unique grenadine drink that’s festive and fun!
The Rum Swizzle is the national drink of Bermuda, a delightfully fruity and tropical grenadine cocktail. It's the type of drink you can build right in the glass, making it very simple to whip up! You’ll use a “swizzle stick” to quickly chill the drink, which is just as fun as the name is charming.
Here’s a 1920's grenadine cocktail that’s all about charm: the Mary Pickford! Take one sip and it’s intriguing: pleasantly sweet and sour from the pineapple juice with a slightly funky finish from the Maraschino. This one looks like it’s straightforward in flavor, but there’s more intrigue that you'd expect in each pink sip.
Here’s a grenadine cocktail that’s a little over the top, but worth it if you’re an adventurous home bartender. The Zombie packs a potent punch, with four types of rum, three fruit juices, and two fruit syrups. It’s got a 1970’s vibe, but this cocktail actually was born in the 1930’s. Here’s how to whip up this special mixed drink!
Here’s a 1920’s slow sipper that’s begging to be part of your cocktail repertoire: the El Presidente cocktail! This Cuban classic never soared quite as high as the daiquiri or the mojito, but it’s something special in its own right. It’s sleek and sophisticated, like a Cuban spin on a Manhattan using rum instead. This grenadine cocktail has some special ingredients and comes out boozy, subtly bitter with a sweet and citrus nuance.
Here’s a brilliant beachy drink that’s stunning with a deliciously tropical flavor: the Malibu Sunset! This layered cocktail brings the party with coconut rum, pineapple juice, and orange juice. Add grenadine and it layers into the gradient of the colors of a sunset!
Here’s a surprising grenadine cocktail starring rye whiskey! The Ward 8 was invented in 1898 and is a riff on the popular whiskey sour. Where the whiskey sour can be on the sweet side, the Ward 8 is perfectly balanced and tart. It features rye whiskey, orange juice and grenadine for sweetness and color.
Last up in my favorite grenadine cocktails is a pineapple vodka cocktail with grenadine. This stunning two-toned drink couldn’t be easier: simply mix pineapple, vodka and lime right up in the serving glass and it tastes sublime. A brilliant red layer of grenadine makes the bottom of the drink glow.
Tips for Homemade Grenadine
When you shop for the main ingredient for these grenadine drinks, look for all natural grenadine if you can. Grenadine is often made with artificial colors and flavors: many times it’s not even made of pomegranate!
Another option is to make grenadine at home. How to do it? Use fresh pomegranate juice! This results in a brilliant hot pink color that’s naturally made from scratch. Here are the basic steps for how to make grenadine syrup:
- Mash fresh pomegranate seeds in a cocktail shaker to extract the juice. Then use a fine-mesh strainer to strain out the juice. Easy as that!
- Heat pomegranate juice and sugar in a saucepan. Heat 2/3 cup juice with ½ cup sugar until the sugar just dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes. Cool, then add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to add tart flavor.
For more, go to How to Make Grenadine and Best Grenadine Substitute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Grenadine has a fruity, sweet-tart flavor derived from pomegranate juice. It’s brighter and more complex than cherry syrup, and works in everything from tropical tiki drinks to spirit-forward classics like the El Presidente.
No, grenadine is a non-alcoholic syrup made from pomegranate juice and sugar. This means it’s a great flavor and color additive in mocktails too, like the classic Shirley Temple.
I look for brands made with real pomegranate juice, like Liber & Co. and Small Hand Foods. Avoid anything with “high fructose corn syrup” or “artificial flavors” listed prominently; those versions tend to taste one-dimensional and overly sweet. Or better yet, make your own: see How to Make Grenadine.
Yes! I have a few different options: see my guide on Best Grenadine Substitutes.
Am happy to keep learning about cocktails keep up Alex 🙏
I am looking for a recipe that my Aunt would make with water, sugar, grenadine and 180 proof Vodka. She added maraschino cherries. I know what was in it just not the amounts of each ingredient. She called it Red Eye. One could only sip this drink due to the Vodka. It is not the Red Eye I could find during a search. That Red Eye is called the Wedding Drink. Not the same. Any help would be very appreciated. Thank you.
I have never heard of that one. It sounds strong! Sorry I can’t be helpful.